Aren’t You Supposed To Hit the Ball?

Last Thanksgiving Pat and I bought and early Christmas Gift for the family. We bought a Wii Game System. The Wii is an interactive video game where you must actually move your body in order to play the game. If you are playing baseball, you must swing the wand (control stick) like a bat to hit the ball or if you are playing soccer, you must actually block the soccer-ball by moving your head from side to side to block it. It didn’t take long to find out it was more difficult than it looked.

My mother, who at the time was 87 years old, found it extremely entertaining to watch her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren look foolish as they tried to play the different games. At one time she made an observation that we were missing many of the soccer balls. She asked, “Aren’t you supposed to hit the balls?” Something we were trying to do but not with much success.

It is four month’s later and my mother, who celebrated her 88th birthday in January, will be buried today. This morning I hear her words in a new light. It is now my turn to take the place of eldest member of a small but loving clan that my father and mother, Everett and Lorene (Bell) Barr, started. I must be the lighthouse that illuminates God’s love and radiates the warmth of God’s comfort. I must be the compass that will point true north to the only true anchor in the sea of life – Jesus. I must be the shepherd that follows the Chief Shepherd.

It’s my turn to “hit the ball.” A tall order – some big foot steps to follow. But by God’s grace and because of your great example, Mom, I will hit that ball and you will live on through us.